Race/Related: Senior living facility in distress as immigrant caregivers are forced out
Short-staffed retirement communities are forced to fire caregivers when Americans are living longer.
Race/Related
July 24, 2026

Channing House, a senior living community just a mile from Stanford University, is home to pioneering scientists, tech executives and inventors. But during a recent meeting, residents confronted a problem they felt powerless to fix: the sudden loss of their caregivers to immigration policies.

“Our work force is being drastically disrupted, relationships are being severed and lives are being upended right now,” said Rhonda Bekkedahl, the center’s chief executive.

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is colliding with a demographic reality: Americans are aging rapidly and living longer, creating soaring demand for elder care when the industry is already buckling under the weight of chronic labor shortages.

A hallway with doors and some medical equipment.

Ian C. Bates for The New York Times

Read more on the impact of immigration enforcement on elderly care.

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